Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security ("MOHRSS") and the Ministry of Civil Affairs ("MCA") have jointly issued the National Vocational Skill Standard for Elderly Caretakers (2019 Edition) (the "Standard"), immediately effective from the date of issuance.
Compared with the older version, the Standard incorporates material changes which include setting out additional requirements for vocational skills, loosening the employment entry conditions, widening the room for career development, and shortening the interval for promotion between two skill levels. For instance, the vocational skills of elderly caretakers will be graded at five levels, including the newly added "Level I: Senior Technician" and the previous four levels, and requirements for such vocational skills as rehabilitation services, caring services, quality control, and provision of training and guidance, are clearly specified. In addition, the Standard substantially adjusts the application conditions by laying out the conditions for graduates from technician training schools, higher technician training schools, technician colleges and those holding junior college degrees or above, to claim the vocational skill levels and stipulating that graduates from secondary vocational schools and secondary technical schools may directly claim the vocational skill Level IV as intermediate technicians. Furthermore, the previous two-year relevant work experience requirement for claiming the vocational skill Level V as junior technicians is relaxed to be a shorter one-year work experience; and a junior technician holding the professional qualification certificate (or the vocational skill Level V certificate) will be allowed to claim the vocational skill Level IV as an intermediate technician, after practices in the industry for four years, instead of the previously required five years.